


A (sort of) story told in drabbles

by thismaz



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, Return of the King
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:13:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thismaz/pseuds/thismaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles about Arthur's first few days back in the world. Set during the breath of peace before he and Merlin go out to save the world, again.<br/>Word count: 11x100</p>
            </blockquote>





	A (sort of) story told in drabbles

The cottage

Even after two days, Arthur was surprised by how warm Merlin's cottage always was.  
It was also full of light.  
And books. Hundreds of them.  
Beyond the window, Merlin was picking beans for their midday meal. He straightened up, saw Arthur and waved. The sky was clear, scarred only by the long, white cloud left by a flying ship.  
This world was full of wonders. They exhausted Arthur with their overwhelming newness.  
But he felt the restless whispering of the thing that was to come. The thing Merlin feared. The reason he was back in the land of the living.

 

Gwen

The illumination in the manuscript did not do justice to her beauty. "She was a good queen?" he asked.  
Merlin turned the page. "Oh, yes," he said. "She ruled the kingdom wisely. They all swore willing fealty to her. She was the Lady of Camelot... And she always had Leon by her side."  
"I'm glad."  
He contemplated memory, and loss, and time. "Did they?"  
"No. She never did."  
"How... how did she die?"  
"Peacefully, in her sleep. Old, by the standards of the time. She adopted Leon's son towards the end, and he made a fine king in his turn."

 

Morgana

"I never had a child by her," Arthur exclaimed, scandalised. "She was my sister."  
"The women have not been well served by legend," Merlin agreed. "Poor Gwen carries blame she doesn't deserve. And the others have become so confused with each other, they almost disappear."  
Arthur frowned. "Could you not tell it properly? Set the story straight?" he asked.  
Merlin laughed, a bitter and resigned acknowledgement of the forgotten truth. "I tried, but there were so many other people weaving their stories. Mine was also lost."  
With that familiar, stubborn expression around his mouth, Arthur declared, "No! It isn't right!"

 

The village

The stars were bright overhead, although not as bright as Arthur remembered. "Light pollution," Merlin said when Arthur mentioned this, pointing at the electric torch, four times taller than a man, next to the road. That made no sense, but Arthur didn't comment. Most things made no sense, at the moment.  
"And that's the pub... the tavern," Merlin said, indicating a house with a hanging sign. "Closed now. We'll go there soon."  
He turned on the spot, pointing. "The shop..." He paused. "Like a market stall. The war memorial. Commemorating fallen warriors. The church.  
"Come on, I'll show you that."

 

Religion

It was a small, stone building, with a squat tower, set in a field of carved memorials. The doors were locked. They studied it together.  
"Not the new religion, then?" Arthur said.  
"No, an even newer one. But it's old, now."  
Merlin smiled mischievously, said, "Just one god," and laughed at Arthur's expression of surprise.  
"One god for everything?" Arthur asked incredulously. "For war, and for harvest, and, and for weaving and for blacksmiths...?"  
"Just one," Merlin confirmed.  
Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "Poor god," he muttered, "to have everybody asking for different things, all at the same time."

 

Domesticity

It had taken Arthur less than a minute to understand the function of the electric kettle. It took him longer to accept that he should use it, too, and when he did, that he should also ask if Merlin wanted a cup of tea.  
"The world's changed," Merlin explained. "I'm not your servant anymore, although I'll serve you until the day we die."  
"I know the world has changed," Arthur snapped. "I can't forget it. It's presented to me every day in glaring... what did you call it? Ah, yes: Techni-colour."  
He placed two mugs very gently on the table.

 

The modern world

Modern music became one of Arthur's primary pleasures.  
Merlin, who had watched the new world grow out of the old, was amazed by his acceptance of cars, electric lights and even aeroplanes overhead, and said so. But there were thousands of these unfamiliar things for Arthur to absorb.  
Bach's intricate manipulation of sound eased him into a understanding of the modern world. It brought him peace when his eyes and ears had had too much of the unfamiliar sights and noise beyond the garden hedge.  
Merlin watched again, as he had done for centuries, but now with a different focus.

 

Television watching

"Where did this idea of you being old come from?"  
Merlin was watching cartoon Wart and the cartoon owl. "I didn't go back, you know," he said. "Not for a few years. And when I did, I was younger than Gaius."  
"You were always younger than Gaius."  
"But that's where the aging backwards thing comes from," Merlin explained. "And Gaius made a much better figure to weave a legend around than some gangling servant."  
Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair. "I like the idea that Gaius is remembered," he said. "Even if he had to steal your name for it to happen."

 

Rainbows

"What's this mean?" Arthur asked, picking up the small round object. "Gay pride," he read. He turned it over and saw the pin on the back. "A broach?"  
"Sort of," Merlin replied, his lips twisted into a self-mocking smile.  
It took him a while to explain.  
"Men with men? And they march for pride in this?" Arthur asked.  
"And women with women. It's legal. If not totally accepted by everyone. Not popular with the church, for example."  
Arthur snorted his dismissal of the new-new religion Merlin had done his best to explain to him.  
"Interesting," he said, considering Merlin thoughtfully.

 

Love

"I loved you, you know," Merlin said, out of nowhere.  
Arthur looked up from the encyclopaedia he was reading and seeing Merlin's expression, pushed it aside. "I know you did," he agreed.  
"No, not only as my prince and my king," Merlin insisted. "I loved you." He smiled. "But you had Gwen."  
Arthur nodded. "Yes, I had Gwen. I loved her. And I had to marry."  
"I know."  
Arthur got up, walked over to Merlin and placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin lifted his eyes from the floor.  
"But a man may have more than one love," Arthur said.

 

Fidelity has its place

Arthur put his mug down. Coffee had an interesting flavour, but he wasn't certain it was worth Merlin's enthusiasm. "Well?"  
Merlin shrugged sheepishly. "Yes, okay? I've had relationships," he admitted, wiggling the middle and forefingers of both hands in the air, in a gesture Arthur didn't recognise.  
"Did you love them?"  
"Maybe?" Merlin paused and looked straight into Arthur's eyes. "Yes," he said, "or I wouldn't have..." He paused again. "It's been fifteen hundred years."  
Arthur smiled. "Good," he said. "Fidelity is all very well, but such loneliness would have cost you your humanity."  
Leaning forward, he took Merlin's hands.

 

A/N: To tell the truth, I'm not sure, but I think I remember Arthur making air quotes in one episode. However, for the purposes of this drabble, let's pretend that he didn't.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments: Are greatly appreciated, loved and cherished. Here [or at my LJ.](http://thismaz.livejournal.com/73747.html)
> 
> Disclaimer: [here.](http://thismaz.livejournal.com/profile#Disclaimer)


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